Lost my cool today for the first time on the bike

[Blue Beemer Dude]

 

You work in the Federal government?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK, no, seriously, I see from your profile that you work in corrections.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Never mind.

 

 

 

Michael

[Green RT]

I'll vouch for Big Matt....we gave each other man hugs at biketurkeyfest. he wouldn't need a firearm to defend himself anyway. he resembles your typical NFL tightend (tightend is a position not a body part...do not read into this anything more than that).

 

That's encouraging. Not only does he think a Glock is a solution to bad drivers, but he is big enough to play in the NFL. Glad he's in Florida and I'm not.

[TrickLidz]

RIDE LIKE YOU'RE INVISIBLE!! Because to cagers...you are.

Highway...outside left lane...always..5-10 mph faster than traffic. Use a radar detector!! Don't stick around any other veh. on the road. The faster you get by someone the less chance they have to take you out.

38 yrs. riding experience.

[AdventurePoser]

Get this. A big 'ol Suburban passed her on the right and came flying up on my ass really freakin' close. I kept my cool and just put my left hand down to signal to back off. The truck did backed off a bit but my sweet and very beautiful wife did NOT keep her cool and took that space to pull our Toyota into the gap and slam her brakes on in front of the Suburban. You can piece together what happened from there. I just saw them all shrink very quickly in my mirrors. God, I love her.

 

Would you be able to love her as much in State Prison? I have a friend who did exactly this. Unfortunately, the outcome was different...The occupant of the offending vehicle he decided to teach a lesson to didn't "shrink before his eyes." Instead he lost control of his SUV and crashed. He was seriously injured.

 

My friend who is 40 with a great job, house and future is being prosecuted for attempted murder and a couple of lessor charges. My guess is that these charges may be plea bargained down, but then, let the civil suits begin. His life as he knew it is over.

 

A moment of anger can be regretted for life. I don't advocate trying to "get even." There are jerks on the road. Deal with each one carefully with the appropriate dose of brake, throttle or lane change, then clear your head and be ready to deal with the next one.

 

Of course, this is my opinion, which combined with $1.73 will buy me a small Starbucks, so take it with a grain of salt...

 

Cheers,

Steve

[AdventurePoser]

I work in a place where I am surrounded by murders, thieves, and every kind of criminal degenerate mind. And I am yet to form the opinion that those that inconvenience me, or disrupt my life should be shot.

 

So, you work in retail??

 

Steve in So Cal

(five years with Robinsons-May in another life)

[flyingreg]

I work in a place where I am surrounded by murders, thieves, and every kind of criminal degenerate mind. And I am yet to form the opinion that those that inconvenience me, or disrupt my life should be shot.

 

So, you work in retail??

YUP, you guessed it.

[AdventurePoser]

Greg, slight hijack....is it raining in Bfield?

 

Thanks,

 

Steve

ps-yes, we do crack ourselves up, don't we???

[flyingreg]

Greg, slight hijack....is it raining in Bfield?

Cats and dogs, Steve, all day long....

[Blue Beemer Dude]

Would you be able to love her as much in State Prison? I have a friend who did exactly this. Unfortunately, the outcome was different...The occupant of the offending vehicle he decided to teach a lesson to didn't "shrink before his eyes." Instead he lost control of his SUV and crashed. He was seriously injured.

 

My friend who is 40 with a great job, house and future is being prosecuted for attempted murder and a couple of lessor charges. My guess is that these charges may be plea bargained down, but then, let the civil suits begin. His life as he knew it is over.

 

Well said. I was the victim of some road rage this past weekend (Saturday) driving down I-85 to see my Mom in SC. The idiot was pissed at me for driving too slowly in the fast lane, so he tailgated me for 3 miles until he could finally pass me, then he tried to run me off the road.

 

Yes, I was partly at fault for only doing 9 MPH over the speed limit as I passed some cars. Sure, I could have sped up to get around the cars, but since the asshole was 3 inches off of my bumper, I just didn't see why I should reward that kind of behavior. In hindsight, I should have just slowed down until I could safely move into the right lane. That would have been safer, and had the added benefit of slowing down the moron all the more.

 

I thought about what would have happened if I didn't brake (madly) to avoid him, but had hit him on the rear quarter. Good chance that at 70 MPH he would have spun out (he was in some kind of SUV) and flipped. Yes, he was an idiot and yes he deserved to be punished, but probably not to die for it.

 

Maybe it's just my old age (45) but it just isn't as important anymore to be the fastest fool on the road.

 

Michael

[DiggerJim]

Yes, he was an idiot and yes he deserved to be punished, but probably not to die for it.

Why not? Clean up some anger genes from the pool.

[Boffin]

Yes, he was an idiot and yes he deserved to be punished, but probably not to die for it.

Why not? Clean up some anger genes from the pool.

 

All extremists should be shot eh?

 

Andy

[DiggerJim]

All extremists should be shot eh?

Nah, that would be extreme.

 

Lots of ways to clean up the gene pool. But I'm not about to cry for someone who fails to take responsibility for their actions. If someone is tailgating me and I slam my brakes and they spin out of control into a ditch and die am I responsible for the accident? Should I beat myself up?

 

I expect some would say "yes" because I "caused" it by slamming on my brakes. But they might think twice if I slammed on my brakes so I wouldn't run over a baby who happened to be crawling across the street. Then it becomes a tragedy averted and an unfortunate consequence and people would tut-tut about the tailgater but feel all warm & cuddly about saving the toddler.

 

There's a slippery slope. I have done exactly the same thing in both cases but in one most people would ascribe the blame for his death on his following too closely and in the other on me for slamming on my brakes for no reason. Neither of our actions differed.

 

What if I only hallucinated the baby?

 

So, would it be different if I stopped for the aforementioned baby but when he spun out of control that he rolled his van full of orphans and they all died? Same baby is saved, but now in addition to the tailgater, the tailgater's passengers all die. Should I be held accountable for their deaths? Even in the attempt to save the baby?

 

What if I slam on my brakes for the baby and he spins out of control to his death but I still run over the baby? Do I feel more remorse for his death in this case than in the case where the baby was saved?

 

The point is that I can be completely blameless in all of these if I only stay home and don't venture out that day. By ascribing the blame to me rather than to the tailgater (who should be aware that the tailgatee might slam on their brakes) we lose personal responsibility and everything becomes the fault of someone else.

 

On the other hand, if I stay home all day I might not be driving in front of said tailgater slowing him down one night so he doesn't slam into the bus of school children sending them to their flaming deaths. If only I had been there to keep him from driving 90 mph the school bus would not have been in his way. <sigh> What to do? Where should one draw the line on feeling responsible for other people?

 

Jim

[Blue Beemer Dude]

All extremists should be shot eh?

Nah, that would be extreme.

 

Lots of ways to clean up the gene pool. But I'm not about to cry for someone who fails to take responsibility for their actions. If someone is tailgating me and I slam my brakes and they spin out of control into a ditch and die am I responsible for the accident? Should I beat myself up?

 

I expect some would say "yes" because I "caused" it by slamming on my brakes. But they might think twice if I slammed on my brakes so I wouldn't run over a baby who happened to be crawling across the street. Then it becomes a tragedy averted and an unfortunate consequence and people would tut-tut about the tailgater but feel all warm & cuddly about saving the toddler.

 

There's a slippery slope. I have done exactly the same thing in both cases but in one most people would ascribe the blame for his death on his following too closely and in the other on me for slamming on my brakes for no reason. Neither of our actions differed.

 

What if I only hallucinated the baby?

 

So, would it be different if I stopped for the aforementioned baby but when he spun out of control that he rolled his van full of orphans and they all died? Same baby is saved, but now in addition to the tailgater, the tailgater's passengers all die. Should I be held accountable for their deaths? Even in the attempt to save the baby?

 

What if I slam on my brakes for the baby and he spins out of control to his death but I still run over the baby? Do I feel more remorse for his death in this case than in the case where the baby was saved?

 

The point is that I can be completely blameless in all of these if I only stay home and don't venture out that day. By ascribing the blame to me rather than to the tailgater (who should be aware that the tailgatee might slam on their brakes) we lose personal responsibility and everything becomes the fault of someone else.

 

On the other hand, if I stay home all day I might not be driving in front of said tailgater slowing him down one night so he doesn't slam into the bus of school children sending them to their flaming deaths. If only I had been there to keep him from driving 90 mph the school bus would not have been in his way. <sigh> What to do? Where should one draw the line on feeling responsible for other people?

 

Jim

 

Last week there was a terrible accident on I-95. Several people died. I blame Jim. He wasn't there to prevent it.

 

Seriously though, the real problem that I have with slamming on your brakes on a tailgater is that more likely than not, they will hit you. And so you stand a very good chance of being injured or even killed yourself. And that, to me, is not going to help the gene pool. The few of us left that are intelligent, resourceful, contemplative and of course, incredibly handsome, need to be kept alive.

 

And remember, wait 30 minutes after eating before swimming in the gene pool.

 

Michael

[Paul Mihalka]

When I was young and foolish, when I had a close tailgater I kept my right foot on the throttle and stabbed the brake pedal with my left. The flash of brake lights and my car lifting it's tail sure made them back off. Now that I'm old and foolish, I switch on my four-way flashers. They back away a bit most of the time.